In Hillary
Clinton's first national interview of the 2016 race, she attacked her
Republican rivals on immigration and dismissed the suggestion that the American
people have a problem trusting her.
"People should and do trust
me," she told CNN's Brianna Keilar.
She blamed the "barrage of attacks
that are largely fomented by and coming from the right" for fueling a
perception that trust is an area of vulnerability for her.
Clinton displayed little hesitation
about attacking Republicans herself, saying that she is "very disappointed"
in Donald Trump for his comments about immigrants and in the Republican Party
for not condemning his remarks more quickly.
She then pivoted to skewering the entire
GOP field for their immigration stance, saying, "They're on a spectrum of
hostility, which I think is really regrettable in a nation of immigrants like
ours."
The interview foreshadowed the Clinton
that will hit the campaign trail in the coming months as election season heats
up. She was occasionally defensive, especially when pressed on whether she has
any responsibility for the public's mistrust in her. But she had no problem
with going on the offense against her Republican challengers.
Clinton took direct aim at GOP rival Jeb
Bush.
"He doesn't believe in a path to
citizenship. If he did at one time, he no longer does," she said.
The Bush campaign rebuffed Clinton's
criticism and instead accused her of flip-flopping on immigration.
"Hillary Clinton will say anything
to get elected and her numerous flip-flops on immigration prove it," said
Emily Benavides, a Bush campaign spokeswoman, in a statement.
"As he outlined in his book on this
issue, Gov. Bush believes in a conservative legislative solution to fix our
broken immigration system that includes earned legal status for those currently
in the country after they pay fines and taxes, learn English and commit no
substantial crimes while securing our border," she said.
Clinton also blamed the city of San
Francisco for mishandling the case of an undocumented immigrant who had been
deported five times before killing a woman there -- in a sanctuary city where
local law enforcement do not enforce federal immigration laws.
"The city made a mistake, not to
deport someone that the federal government strongly felt should be
deported," she said. "I have absolutely no support for a city that
ignores the strong evidence that should be acted on."
The full interview aired Tuesday on
"The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" and will re-air at 8 p.m. on
"Anderson Cooper 360."
Pressed on why the public has a hard
time trusting her, Clinton maintained she
faced "the same kind of onslaught" in her two New York Senate
campaigns and her confirmation as secretary of state, and said Republicans have
sought to turn controversies like her use of a private email address and the
Clinton Foundation's actions against her.
And that, Clinton said, is why national
polls and swing-state surveys have found that a majority of voters say they
don't see her as honest and trustworthy.
A Quinnipiac University Swing State poll found that by margins of 8 to 14
percentage points voters in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania are skeptical of
Clinton's trustworthiness.
In Florida, 51% of voters hold the
negative view of Clinton, compared to 43% who feel she is trustworthy. In Ohio,
53% of voters find Clinton not trustworthy, compared to 40% who do. And in
Pennsylvania, 54% of voters don't find her honest, while 40% do.
"I think it's understandable that
when questions are raised, people maybe are thinking about them and wondering
about them," Clinton said.
"But I have every confidence that
during the course of this campaign, people are going to know who will fight for
them, who will be there when they need them, and that's the kind of person I am
and that's what I will do, not only in a campaign but as president," she
said.
"The city made a mistake, not to deport
someone that the federal government strongly felt should be deported," she
said. "I have absolutely no support for a city that ignores the strong
evidence that should be acted on."
The full interview aired Tuesday on
"The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" and will re-air at 8 p.m. on
"Anderson Cooper 360."
Pressed on why the public has a hard
time trusting her, Clinton maintained she
faced "the same kind of onslaught" in her two New York Senate
campaigns and her confirmation as secretary of state, and said Republicans have
sought to turn controversies like her use of a private email address and the
Clinton Foundation's actions against her.
And that, Clinton said, is why national
polls and swing-state surveys have found that a majority of voters say they
don't see her as honest and trustworthy.
A Quinnipiac University Swing State poll found that by margins of 8 to 14
percentage points voters in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania are skeptical of
Clinton's trustworthiness.
In Florida, 51% of voters hold the
negative view of Clinton, compared to 43% who feel she is trustworthy. In Ohio,
53% of voters find Clinton not trustworthy, compared to 40% who do. And in
Pennsylvania, 54% of voters don't find her honest, while 40% do.
"I think it's understandable that
when questions are raised, people maybe are thinking about them and wondering
about them," Clinton said.
"But I have every confidence that
during the course of this campaign, people are going to know who will fight for
them, who will be there when they need them, and that's the kind of person I am
and that's what I will do, not only in a campaign but as president," she
said.
The interview spanned a broad range of
topics -- among them a discussion of adding a woman to the $10 bill. Clinton
declined to select a favorite woman for the honor, but suggested a woman should
instead go on a $20.
"I don't like the idea that as a
compromise you would basically have two people on the same bill. One would be a
woman. That sounds pretty second class to me," Clinton said. "So I
think a woman should have her own bill."
Nor would she pick which Saturday Night
Live actress, Amy Poehler or Kate McKinnon, plays the best Hillary Clinton.
"Amy's a friend of mine and Kate's
doing a great job. You're not going to get me to pick one or the other,"
she said. "I think I'm the best Hillary Clinton."
No comments:
Post a Comment